Improvement in mechanical musical instruments



vREST AVAILABLE CGP ssssssssssss t1 M. GALLY. Mechanical MusicalInstrment. No. 214,121. PatntedvAprl 8,1879.

A l l I imm- "51111111151" mmm WITNESSES. mveNTok.

www

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR;

M. GALLY. Mechanical Musical Instrument. No. 214,121. Patented April8,1879.

BEST AVMLBL CO1` WITNESSES @EST AVALABLE CO1' M. GALLY. l MechanicalMusical Instrument. No. 214,121. Patented April 8,1879.

ms.; a

3 sheets-sheen filth Unirse essi AVAILABLE COP.

MERRITT GALLY, OF lNTElV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT l'N MECHANICAL MUSlCAL i-NSTRUMENTS.

Specification forming partof Letters Patent No. QXLXQH dated April 8,1879,' application filed December 27, 1878.

To all whom 'it 'may concern:

Be it known-that I, MERRITT GALLY,-of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented' certain new and useful Improvements in MusicalInstruments, of which the 'following is a specification.

ln the' accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectionalV elevation,showing the principal features of the invention. Fig. l is a sec-'tional view of the. device for operating' the ports of the ducts of thepneumatic key; Fig.

2, the same as Fig. la, showing the position of the ports when anunperforated portion of the music-sheet covers the duct B; Fig.- 3, the

same as Fig. l, showing the position ot' the ports when a perforation inthe sheet opens duct B.' Fig. 4 represents a piecc'ot` th'e music-sheet.Fig. 5 represents a modified ar- 'T is adiagram representing thearrangement of a number of sets of reeds in groups, in such a manner asnot only to be used for the ordinar stops77 of the instrument, but inconibination with a suitable arrangement of the pcrforations in thcmusic-sheet to produce music written in a wider range than representedby the number ot oct-aves ci' lines .of perforations in the sheetcorresponding with the principal set of reeds.

In mypatcnt for improvement in .musicalv instruments dated November26,1878,is described theco'mbination, with theprimary keys, ofapneumatic key-action of sub-pneumatic keys, for the purpose ot'increasing the power of the strolre of the'primary keys, and also 'theppe'ration of the valvciot' the air-duct of the sub-pneumatic, by meansof the initial movement ot' the primary pneumatic.

The first part ot' my present invcntio'nconsists in so constructingandcombining the primar;T and secondary pneumatics as to use themovement ot' the primary for operating the'ports of entry and exiuot'the airductof the secondary without necessarilyvr connecting t-licprimary pneumatic with the striking de vice, and by using die primaryonly for suc-h purpose to be able to operate it by means of A t keymnchlarger than A the duct-B, and there-V inuch sinallerperorations in themusic-sheet,

and also to be able to use the perforated sheet in connect-ion with thevent .ofthe primary pneumatic instead of'the exhaust or supply ductwhich leads to the airchamber of thebellows.

In Fig. l the pneumatic striking-key is rep.- resented by A. ATheremainder of the gure represents the primary pneumatic very muchenlarged, in order to distinctly show its construction. The airchamberL1-and follower a inight be constructed in the ordinary bellowsshape,'like the primary pneumatic of my pair ent of November2,6,1`878,and does not materially differ from it in its action. It,however, differs in the construction of its air-ducts and the connectionof the perforated sheet with the vent-duct instead of the duct of theairchamber of the bellows. vThe perforated sheet N is drawn over theopening of the venbduct B, and the air isl exhausted from 'chamber althrough duct D, which leads to the bellows through chamber KL Theperforatedmusic-sheet N, air-duct B, and air-dnct D might be made todirectly'opcrate the vpneumatic key A, if arranged as shown in themodification Fig. by the use of au additional duct, m', the ducts B Dbeing represented by B D' 5 but this, although operative, wouldl requireperforations in the music-sheet much larger than the duct {1n/,and equalto B', in'ordcr to prevent the 'exhaust of -t-he chamber .of thezkey,Fig. 5, while a perforation ot the sheet opened the duct B'.

' It is very desirableto have the perforations in the music-sheetl assmall as possible in order to have the sheet narrow. -1 therefore usethe ducts B D in connection with a very small.

chamber, a,`Fig. 1, which may be much smaller than that shown in thefigure, while the duct G i'or exhausting the pneumatic may be made aslarge as desired to operatethekeyAthrough m, and till it .again veryquickly by using thev primary pneumatic a al B D in connection with themusic-sheet N simply for operating the valves ot' the'air-ducts to andfrom key A,

The perforation in themnsic-sheet may now bc made as much smaller thanan opening large enough to exhaust'properly the chamber ot' key A aschamber u* is 'smaller than A.

- In the device of actual working size for a 'fore the perforations inthe sheet, do not re x qnire to be more than one-twentieth of an incliin diameter or width, as shown in Fig. 4,

.and theduct D requires to be not morethan one-tli'rty-second of an inchin diameter, while the ducts O m canbe the sizes shown.

When an unperforated part 'of the music sheet closes duct' B follower atakesjthe po.. sition shown in Fig. 2, and valve h is open to fill 'keyA with air... When a lperforation opens duct B the follower ci drops,and with it the rod of the-valv'es,'whiclf closes valvesli 'and' opensvalve g, as shown in Fig.' 3. When Athe valves are-closed they are heldto their seats bya stop on the valve-rod for the purpose. i

exceedingly sensitive and 'quick in its action, which is desirable.

` The follower e is smaller thanl follower a, and

-hasa exible connection with the sides'of the chamber in like manner toa. This forms the chamber el under the chamber t.

The chamber b in both modes ,of construction is constantlydilled withair from the external atmospherethrough the opening V.

When the small .follower is not used, the partition H is' made to extendacross the chamber from side to side, as shown by the dotted lines',

an opening being left only suieiently large for the rod to slide in,thus separating the chamber b'from the chamber below' the 'parti-,

tion H.A

When the device is'. constructed with the small follower e, thefollowera representing a greater surface for air-pressure than followere, the smaller one is carried upward with the larger, and held in suchposition until a perv'foi-ation in the music-sheet renders the larger.one inoperative, wherithe exhaust from below draws down the smallfollower with a -quick movement, closing and holding firmly valve hV 2f;to its seat until chamber a1 is again exhausted. The device thusconstructed is exceedingly sensitive and quick in its action.

^ .A single set of these primary pneumatics may be made to operate anumber of sets of pneumatic keys, as' the chamber in which the valves'are placed may lead to any desired number of pneumatic keys, which maybe arranged to act separatelyor in groups, as required. j

By changing the valves g 7i to the opposite Sides of their ports, thedevice may beoperated by a pressure current of air instead of exhaust,if desirable; or the parts may be arl ranged to operate with a pressurecurrent for en the follower e .is nsed'the rod andv vvalves may be verylight, and the device be v2 214,121 BEST VAlL/BLE @Op the pneumatic .keyA and exhaust for the chamber a; or currents of diherenttensionsmaybeused for the two chambers, thus necessitating the use of only thefollower a with chamber a.l ouA one side of it and chamber el .on thelother side.- I In my patent `for improvement in musical instrumentsdated May 7, 1878, there was shown abalanced-valve for the reed-openingot an organ; but the same was reserved for a future speci iication. Inow present a balanced valve in an improved form.

. Fig. 1 the partition between. the air-chest Kandreed-chamber lczhastwo openings, closed by the two valvesei and e. These valves are bot-liconnected with the push-pin and operate in unison. The valve c3 opensinto reedchamber k, and valve c* opens into air-chest K. The exhausto'f`the bellows tends to open valve e, butto close valve e. The air-surfacepressure of valve e is made to slightly exceed that of e, taking intoaccount their dlerence of leveragaso that the valves areheld closedbyair-pressure, but are very easilyopened.l A slight spring may be addedto secure their prompt closing, if desired.

y The-.pushpin is provided with. a screw and ,adjusting-nut, as shown,to adj ust the valves so that they willstrike their seats in uniso'n.

These valves thus constructed and arranged will operate with uniformtouch, whatever the tension of the exhaust may be or under chan-ge ofits 'tension, and are very usefulin instrn ments provided withexpression-bellows.

The third part of my invention' consists in 4 an improvedexpression-bellows. 'The receiving-chamber G Gll has two or morecompartments communicating with one another, and

opera-ted alike by air, either under pressure or exhaust. The chamberhas a part cut away in Fig. 1 to show the two internal compartments, andEig. 6 represents their positions. The4 compartment G does notnecessarily require any spring, and in this respect dilers materiallyfrom expression-bellows depend# .ing on springs-of different tensions.When both compartments are opera'ting in connec tion with theair-current, they communicate with each other, securing a consta-ntequilibrium .iu'the air of the air-chest- K, with an easy transitionfrom one air-tension to another,

however sudden it maybe, without the use of air-pads orregulating-springs, or any thing,r of the kind, and therefore thedevicediiers in every respect from the use of an additional bellows, havingrno air -cominunication with the receiving-chamber proper. The pumps Eoperate only in connection with compartment GJ, and compartment Gf takesthe -air from compartment G through an intervening passage, into whichopen the ports Z Cempartment Gz opens into the duct leading to airchest.K through an opening represented by dotted lines at I.

In the passage leading from compartment G to Gr2 are two valves, one toopen and close the passage between the compartments, and

- thefother connecting` the passage with the er terna-l atmosphere. Thespring` ot' the chamber 1s represente-d by Si. When valve i is open andvalve -t closed, the entire receiving- .chamber is operative, and thetension of the air 1s that of the spring, taking into account the areaof the entire movable surface of the chamber. Vhen valvet is open andvalve -i closed, compartment G is rendered Vinoperative, and theair-tension is that of the spring, taking into account only the movablesurface ofthe remainder of the chamber. Thus, it the compartments wereof equa-l size, and the entire movablesurface of tle chamber be threesquare fleet, and the spring-pressure thirty pounds, .the air-tensionwould be ten pounds to' the foot when both compartments are operative,but twenty pounds to the foot whenonly one compartment is operative.

Any number of compartments may be used, so that a varietyof air-tensionsmay be secured The.chamber' thus constructed may bc used either forexhaustor pressure,'as the case may require. The valves may be operatedbyan attachment for knee or hand, in connection with rod h3, at h2, orbyv means ot' the music-sheet through the pneumatic f. The air-duct tothis pneumatic is represented by dotted lines Y. The valves maybeotherwise :mechanically opera-ted in connection with the music-Sheet-forexample, by means of levers connecting -with depressions, elevations, orperforations i`n the sheet.- i I use the tension-bellows for two.distinct purposes: First, to operate the pneumatic key- Vaction withdi'erentdegrces of tension for -dierent powers of stroke when required,the action being adapted to sounding devices otherthnnreeds or pipes,such as strings, bells, and the like.A It is alsgdesirable to be able'to vary the stroke ofthe keys when used with reeds or pipes. Secondly,I use the expression-bellowsfor different degrees of air tension4 on thereeds or pipes. In Fig. l the air-chest K, irr which the airteusion ischanged by the expression-bellows, is shown connecting' directly bothwith the pneumatic keys and the reed-ch amber L2.

Theobject of the fourth part of my invention is to be. able to use theadditional sets oi' reeds which are required for the stops of aeed-instrument, to perform music by mea-ns ot thev pneumatic keysbeyond-the range of octavos given to the width of the music-sheettbr'cxample, a sheet with three octaves ot perforations aud the stops toperform music written on 4five or more octaves of notes. The levers L'L2 may be operated by means of the pneumatic key-action as rapidly asthe reedvalves. The levers L L2 operate the shutters l l, which are theordinary stops of the organ. All the stops" of .a reed-organ, except'what are called the ffancy stops, simply open to sets of reedsfi'noctaves ranging above or below the principal set. The violina bein g theprincipal set, the'fpiccolc would be the same an octave above, and tlietrumpet the same BEST AVAlLABLE COF "3 an octave below. lt", then, nmanual performer were able to manipulate his stops as rapidly' as hiskeys, and manipulate both in unison, he would be able to perform musicbeyondthe range ot' his keyboard.. lhis is what I- accomplish with thepneumatic keys and the groups of sets of reeds ol"` Fig. 7. Themusicsheetis only wide enough to operate three oc-v taves of' pneumatickeys and seven stop's. ly arranging the-sets of reeds for theprincipalset, and those for the stops in groups,- as shown, to be operated uponby the three oetaves of keys for the notes, and having seven shutters,one for euch stoplpneuimttic, s'uch combinations muy be made by meansfofthe perforations in the sheet as notl only to produce the ordinary eectot' stops, but-,toperform music written on ve, six, or even sevenoctavos. Each note-key opens all the valves of its letter in all thesets ot' reeds ot`- its group; but only the letter of such 'set' 'issounded in the group as may be opened by z-acorresponding action of-itsshutter-key. ifa. letter-keyy be operated in the third group, forexample, and the stop-keys be operated for six and seven, the letterwould be in thc sixth octave with violina and piccolo stops.

Many pieces on even seven o'ctaves can be rendered properly with theeffect of the stops perforated in sheets for three octavos in width. Allsolo passages can thus be rendered in seven octaves. A greater or lessnumber of sets of reeds may make up each group, according to the desiredlimitoflthe range ot' the iustrument.

It is unnecessary to entei` into a long explanation as to the method ofcombining 'the different sets for different results, as it is a factwell known that a' great many combinations are possible from a very fewnumbers.

The ducts B, Fie'. 1, converge, requiring only anarrow sheet.

The devi-ces of my invention are applicable not only to reedorgans, butto musical instruments provided with strings, bells, or other soundingdevices. They are also adaptable either to complete instruments or toattachments for playing on musical instruments. Many of the devices arealso applicable either to mechanical musical instruments or to thosemann-ally operated, or to those which are adapted to be operatedmanually or mechahically at will. I do not therefore wish to linlitmyself in their application to musical instruments of any particulardescription.

ihat I claiiuas my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, withthe valves g h, of follower a, air-ch amber a),follower e, and aircha-mber el, substantially as and for the pnrf posespecified.

2. The combination, with follower a, and its air-chamber', follower c,and itsair-chamber, ot' valves g h, the followers littering in area, forthe purpose specified.

3. The combination, with follower a andai!)- chamber'a, of theperforated illusie-sheet N;

4 A sexsuel air-duct B, and air-duct D, the duct/B being largertban ductI), in order that the air passing through the music-sheet may be inexcess of that passing through duct D, to secure the properA action offollower a.

4. The combination, with air-chamber a and .follower ai, of valve h,Asubstantially as andfor the purposespeced;

5. In a pneumatic key-action formusical instruments, the air-ducts B, D,and C, di'er- Y speci fled.

7. The expression bellows having two or lmore connecting compartments,and having a valve for establishing or cutting off snch'commuuication atwill.

8. The expression-bellows having two or more' compartments, and a valvefor establishing or cutting. off their communication, o ne 4coinpartmenthaving a spr1ng,tl1e others with or without springs,constructed to operate sub s tantially as specified.

BEST AVAlLABLE COI 9. The combination, withI the expressionbellows, ofthe perforated music'sheet, whereby the different degrees of air-tensionof the bellows are controlled, substantially'as specified. l

10. The expressionbellow's and its valves t i, incombination with thepneumatic substantia-lly as specified.

11.' The combination, with a perforated mu- 'sic-sheet and stopsoperatedthereby, of' a group'or groups of reeds, each group containing more thanone octave -of notes, 'operated by a single octave of perforetions inthe inusic-sheet.

12. The combination, with the push-pin a, of the valves cn e for thereed or `pipe of a musical instrument, constructed and arranged tooperate substantially as specified.

13. The combination, with a mechanical' musical instrument, of anexpression-bellows, substantially as and for the 'purposes specified.

MERRITT GALLY.

Witnesses: i

JOSEPH MossMAN, C. P. Buss.

